Tunisian navy arrests suspected people smuggler after migrant boat tragedy
Tunisian navy arrests suspected people smuggler after migrant boat tragedy
A man accused of smuggling people from Tunisia to Italy was arrested by authorities in Sousse on Monday night, after 20 migrants died when four boats sank off the country's coast.
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Tunisia in recent years became a key route for illicit migration towards Europe [Getty- archive]
Tunisian naval forces on Monday evening arrested a man suspected of organising people smuggling operations via sea, days after four boat capsized off the country’s coast killing 20 people.
The man in his 40s was arrested in Sousse, on suspicion of organising the migrant smuggling operations to Italy, according to local media.
A spokesperson for a maritime guards syndicate in Sousse told local radio station Mosaique that the man had been followed for days before being captured by authorities.
The death toll from African migrant boats that sank off Tunisia at the weekend rose to 20 people on Monday, a judicial official said, the latest migrant boat disaster off the North African country.
Crisis-stricken Tunisia and war-torn neighbour Libya have become key routes for illicit migration towards Europe.
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